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Parachutes by Kelly Yang

Parachutes by Kelly Yang

Buy Parachutes Regular price: $21.70 Publisher:  Katherine Tegen Books Format: Hardcover / Audiobook Narrators: Cassie Simone and Karissa Vacker Reviewer: Melissa on May 6, 2021 Rating: 5 out of 5 stars When I first heard about Parachutes, I thought it wasn’t the book for me because of the comparison to Gossip Girl. Boy was I wrong. (Maybe I should’ve placed a little more weight with the…

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Cool for the Summer by Dahlia Adler

Cool for the Summer by Dahlia Adler

Buy Cool for the Summer Regular price: $22.75 Publisher:  Wednesday Books Format: Hardcover Reviewer: Melissa on May. 04, 2021 Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars Larissa, aka Lara, has only had eyes for one person throughout her high school years: Chase Harding. He’s tall, strong, hot, and the football star, but he’s also sweet. And suddenly, he’s talking to her. Maybe even flirting? No, wait, he’s…

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The Sun Is Also A Star by Nicola Yoon

The Sun Is Also A Star by Nicola Yoon

Buy The Sun Is Also A Star Regular price: $32.19 Publisher:  Ember / Listening Library Format: Paperback / Audiobook Reviewer: Melissa on Apr. 12, 2021 Rating: 5 out of 5 stars Natasha is a teen girl who believes in science and facts. She doesn’t believe in fate or destiny. And she’s definitely not the kind of girl who would fall in love with a boy she randomly meets on a crowded NYC street. Not…

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Bingo Love by Tee Franklin, Jenn St-Onge, and Joy San

Bingo Love by Tee Franklin, Jenn St-Onge, and Joy San

Buy Bingo Love Regular price: $12.65 Publisher:  Image Comics Format: Paperback Reviewer: Melissa on Mar. 16, 2021 Rating: 5 out of 5 stars I first heard about Tee Franklin‘s Bingo Love via someone’s Instagram list of recommended Black, sapphic stories. Written by Franklin, art work by Jenn St-Onge, and coloured by Joy San, it caught my attention because it tells a f/f romance between two…

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The Project by Courtney Summers

The Project by Courtney Summers

Buy The Project Special price: $20.11 Regular price: $20.60 Publisher: Wednesday Books Format: Hardcover Reviewer: Melissa on Mar. 12, 2021 Rating: 5 out of 5 stars From the very first moment that I heard of The Project by Courtney Summers, I knew I had to read it. Summers’ Canadian YA novels have always spoken to me. However, her last novel, Sadie, was better than anything she’d ever done, and I…

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Make Up Break Up by Lily Menon

Make Up Break Up by Lily Menon

Check out the cover for Make Up Break Up by Lily Menon. Buy Make Up Break Up Regular price: $20.10 Publisher: St. Martin’s Griffin Format: Paperback Reviewer: Melissa on Feb. 3, 2021 Rating: 5 out of 5 stars Ever since I heard Lily Menon (aka Sandhya Menon) was going to write an adult rom-com, I knew I had to read it. I’ve read nearly all of Sandhya’s YA novels, minus the first book in her…

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#BellLetsTalk Day: Recommended Books on Anxiety

#BellLetsTalk Day: Recommended Books on Anxiety

#BellLetsTalk Day: Recommended Books on Anxiety Today, January 28th, 2021, is the 11th annual #BellLetsTalk day, which is an initiative that has always been near and dear to my heart. Since I’ve known about it, I’ve always spent time on social media sharing information and having discussions with people around mental health, reducing the stigma, and sharing my experience of being someone who has…

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You Have a Match by Emma Lord

You Have a Match by Emma Lord

Buy You Have A Match Regular price: $18.09 Publisher: Wednesday Books Format: Hardcover Reviewer: Melissa on Jan. 19, 2021 Rating: 4 out of 5 stars You Have a Match, the sophomoric novel by Emma Lord, is an interesting look at what happens when Abby’s friend, Leo, asks her and their other BFF, Connie, to take a DNA kit in the hopes of finding some biological family members other than his sister,…

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Cover Reveal: The Half Class by Debut Author Kayvion Lewis!

Cover Reveal: The Half Class by Debut Author Kayvion Lewis!

Let us know what you think of the cover for The Half-Class (The Class Chronicles, #1) by Kayvion Lewis, which releases Aug. 24, 2021! This cover reveal is brought to you by Parliament House Press. About The Half-Class: By day, Evie is an outcast, a half-class. Too dark for the illustrious light class, and too fair for the lowly dark class, she is forced to walk the edge of the street with her…

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Into the Heartless Wood by Joanna Ruth Meyer

Into the Heartless Wood by Joanna Ruth Meyer

Buy Into the Heartless Wood Regular price: $19.71 Publisher: Page Street Format: Hardcover Reviewer: Melissa on Jan. 9, 2021 Rating: 4 out of 5 stars I requested Into the Heartless Wood for two reasons. The beautiful, illustrated cover and because I’d previously read and loved another title by the same publisher, The Henna Wars by Adiba Jaigirdar, so I thought I’d take a chance on this dark…

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Interview with Monica Rodden, Author of Monsters Among Us

Interview with Monica Rodden, Author of Monsters Among Us

Interview with Monica Rodden, Author of Monsters Among Us On Tuesday, I reviewed Monsters Among Us by debut author, Monica Rodden. Today, this debut author is on YA Book Shelf to participate in an in-depth interview about her novel. We discuss everything from the marketing of her debut novel and what drew her to writing thrillers to the theme of sexual assault, her favourite Christmas bread…

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Monsters Among Us by Monica Rodden

Monsters Among Us by Monica Rodden

Buy Monsters Among Us Regular price: $19.44 Publisher: Crown Books for Young Readers Format: Hardcover Reviewer: Melissa on Jan. 5, 2021 Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars Monsters Among Us is not an easy book to read. I knew going into it that it dealt with sexual assault, so that wasn’t a surprise. However, the main character, Catherine, understandably has internalized a lot of the misogyny that…

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I Hate You, Fuller James by Kelly Anne Blount

I Hate You, Fuller James by Kelly Anne Blount

Buy I Hate You, Fuller James Regular price: $18.65 Publisher: Entangled Crush Format: Paperback Reviewer: Melissa on Dec. 11, 2020 Rating: 4 out of 5 stars I haven’t read a Crush title in several years, but when Kelly Anne Blount asked whether I’d like to read I Hate You, Fuller James, I knew I had to say yes. In the past, the short and sweet YA romance novels that characterize the Crush brand…

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Watch Over Me by Nina LaCour

Watch Over Me by Nina LaCour

Buy Watch Over Me Regular price: $14.90 Publisher: Dutton Books for Young Readers Format: Paperback / Audiobook Narrator: Jorjeana Marie Reviewer: Melissa on Nov. 20, 2020 Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

Once again Nina LaCour has delivered an emotional gut punch of a book with her latest novel, Watch Over Me.

I’ve wanted to read this novel since I first heard about it, even more so when I saw it’s lovely…

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This Time Will Be Different by Misa Sugiura

This Time Will Be Different by Misa Sugiura

Buy This Time Will Be Different Regular price: $12.08 Publisher: Harper Teen Format: Paperback Reviewer: Melissa on August 25, 2020 Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

Back in 2017, I read and absolutely fell in love with Misa Sugiura‘s debut YA novel, It’s Not Like It’s a Secret. So even though I didn’t know much about This Time Will Be Different, other than that it dealt with the internment of…

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When You Were Everything by Ashley Woodfolk

When You Were Everything by Ashley Woodfolk

Buy When You Were Everything Special price: $13.35 Regular price: $20.14 Publisher: Delacorte Press / Listening Library Format: Hardcover / eBook / Audiobook Narrator: Imani Parks Reviewer: Melissa on August 20, 2020 Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

I don’t quite remember how I heard about When You Were Everything by Ashley Woodfolk for the first time.

I know that I saw it listed on Afoma Umesi’s list of “45…

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You Should See Me in a Crown by Leah Johnson

You Should See Me in a Crown by Leah Johnson

Buy You Should See Me in a Crown Special price: $14.39 Regular price: $17.99 Publisher: Scholastic Press Format: Hardcover Reviewer: Melissa on August 18, 2020 Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

Ever since I first heard about You Should See Me in a Crown by Leah Johnson, I knew I had to read it, and not only because I wanted to make a point of reading more books by Black authors and featuring more books with…